FOREWORD
How do you follow a hit?
In 2012, I set out to create something that wasn’t available in the speculative anthology space—a collection of humorous short stories. As a reader, I was frustrated with the dearth of science fiction and fantasy venues for such material. This kind of book was something I’d welcome, and I was betting there were enough fans of the lighter fare who wanted it, too. And thus, Unidentified Funny Objects was born.
The book was a success, well-received by both critics and the reading public. But my ambitions extended beyond creating a single hit. I envisioned UFO as an annual series of anthologies, providing a consistent outlet for the type of light-hearted, optimistic short story that is seldom seen elsewhere. But how do you provide that consistent experience and yet keep things fresh? UFO2 is my attempt to answer this question with:
New headliners: Robert Silverberg and Esther Friesner are among the exciting group of well-known authors to lend their talents to the UFO series.
Familiar worlds: Jody Lynn Nye, K.G. Jewell, and Matt Mikalatos revisit the characters and settings they created for the first UFO volume. Each story is a stand-alone and can be enjoyed without having read the previous installment, but it’s a nice bit of continuity, and an extra reason for new readers to seek out the inaugural anthology.
Different lengths: UFO was packed with twenty-nine shorter stories. UFO2 includes nineteen mostly-longer tales.
Picture it: This book includes original illustrations for nine of the stories, drawn by Barry Munden.
Bring the wacky: UFO stories are often about outrageous settings and characters. From madcap time travelers to orc lawyers to alien beasts in Central Park, this book turns the wacky setting up to eleven.
Please enjoy the stories collected here. If I did my job right, this book will not only be a worthy successor to the previous volume, but will also have you marking your calendar for the release date of UFO3. And while you wait, be sure to check out several additional free stories posted at www.ufopub.com